COVID COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Neighborhood Trust offers any NYC business free access to their phone-based financial coaching program, TrustPlus, for three months. TrustPlus financial coaches can help with everything from stretching resources and budgeting to debt management. They can also help displaced employees access and navigate newly available public resources. To learn more about how you can give your staff access to TrustPlus for free, contact Brendon Kinney at bkinney@neighborhoodtrust.org.

This database is designed to provide an easily searchable resource of information and tools that will help Bronx small business owners, employees, and local residents suffering from the economic disruption caused by COVID-19.

Help support and save NYC restaurants and bars through this website. Order food, cocktails, wine, and beer for delivery or take-out and keep your local favorites in business! They are working hard to keep these lists up-to-date, but please check with individual businesses to confirm their hours, menus, and availability.

All in-person appointments with the HRA have been cancelled. NO NEGATIVE CASE ACTIONS WILL BE TAKEN. You can do everything listed at this link without coming to an HRA Center. Go online to nyc.gov/accesshra, or download the ACCESS HRA mobile app, and log in or create an account.

Comcast – offeringEssentials internet service designed for low-income families free for 60 days for new qualifying customers. Visit https://www.internetessentials.com/ for more information. Call 1-855-8-INTERNET for set up.

Spectrum – households with K-12 students can get free Spectrum Wifi for 60 days (including free installation for new customers). Call 1-844-488-8395 for set up.

NYC Well is your connection to free, confidential mental health support. If you feel overwhelmed, or if you need help coping, you can contact NYC Well, a confidential 24/7 helpline, staffed by trained counselors. They can provide brief counseling and referrals to care in over 200 languages and other resources. Call 888-NYC-WELL (888-692-9355), Text “WELL” to 65173, or chat at nyc.gov/nycwell.

COVID BUSINESS RESOURCES

Samuel Adams and the Greg Hill Foundation have launched the Restaurant Strong Fund to aid individuals who were employed full-time at a restaurant, bar, cafe or nightclub and impacted by COVID-19 closures. Click here to apply.

Hello Alice with the support of Verizon, Silicon Valley Bank, Ebay, and others is offering $10,000 emergency grants, being distributed immediately to small business owners impacted by this pandemic. If your business has been severely impacted by COVID-19, please complete the full COVID19 Business for All Grant application to apply for immediate support in the form of $10,000 grants. Click here to apply or contact alice@helloalice.com​ with any questions.

The Save Small Business Fund, an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will be offering grants of $5,000 to small businesses in economically vulnerable communities. Eligible businesses employ between 3-20 employees (including owners) and have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The application process will only take about 10 minutes. You can access the application when it becomes available on Monday, April 20 at 3pm ET, by clicking here.

Neighborhood Trust offers any NYC business free access to their phone-based financial coaching program, TrustPlus, for three months. TrustPlus financial coaches can help with everything from stretching resources and budgeting to debt management. They can also help displaced employees access and navigate newly available public resources. To learn more about how you can give your staff access to TrustPlus for free, contact Brendon Kinney at bkinney@neighborhoodtrust.org.

The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) and the Office of the Bronx Borough Present has established the Bronx Business Continuity Loan (BBCL) with the goal of providing recovery financing to businesses of the Bronx. The Bronx Business Continuity Loan Fund was created to help sustain video businesses through these challenging times caused by the Covid19 pandemic.

The use of these funds will provide local emergency business financing and bridge loan funding until government contingency financing is in place.

Eligible Companies:For-profit entities, including service, retail and manufacturing companies operating in the Bronx and nonprofit organizations in the Bronx.

Spring Bank will be able to offer Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loans through the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. As an SBA Preferred Lender with delegated authority to make 7(a) loans, the bank will be able to offer loans offered through the Paycheck Protection Program provision of the CARES Act.

Here are key points of the program:

All eligible businesses and nonprofits in operation on or before February 15, 2020 with fewer than 500 employees are eligible

Loan proceeds may be used to maintain payroll, rent, business related debt costs.

Loan amounts are the lesser of average monthly payroll during the last 12 months x 2.5 or $10MM

The portion of the loan that is used for eligible purposes during the first eight (8) weeks after funding is eligible for forgiveness

No SBA guarantee fees

No personal guarantee

No collateral requirement

These loans are intended to assist struggling small businesses across the country. The money can be used for payroll, rent, utility or mortgage expenses as well as interest costs on other debt obligations incurred before February 15, 2020. As more details are available, Spring Bank will be updating their website. For more details from the SBA please go to: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources.

The CARES Act signed at the end of March 2020 contains $376 billion in relief for American workers and small businesses. In addition to traditional SBA funding programs, the CARES Act established several new temporary programs to address the COVID-19 outbreak. Find more info about the loan programs here.

This database is designed to provide an easily searchable resource of information and tools that will help Bronx small business owners, employees, and local residents suffering from the economic disruption caused by COVID-19.

Help support and save NYC restaurants and bars through this website. Order food, cocktails, wine, and beer for delivery or take-out and keep your local favorites in business! They are working hard to keep these lists up-to-date, but please check with individual businesses to confirm their hours, menus, and availability.

The Mayor’s Office of Food Policy is exploring the capacity of NYC businesses to make, provide, and deliver meals within New York City and provide other foods/groceries. The initial ask is for 25,000 meals on a consistent basis. Please indicate if you can offer Kosher, Halal, or other cultural or ethnic options.

Start Small Think Big is a nonprofit that provides free legal, marketing, and financial services to under-resourced entrepreneurs and can help you with the NYC funding applications. Visit their COVID-19 resource page for more information.

The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund was created to aid nonprofit service providers struggling with the health and economic effects of the coronavirus.

It will give grants and interest-free loans to NYC-based nonprofits that are trying to meet the new and urgent needs that are hitting the city. Priority will be given to direct service providers addressing essential healthcare and food insecurity as well as arts and culture, because New York is the cultural capital of the nation. Your gift will help nonprofits with a variety of needs, including protective equipment, cleaning supplies, technological assistance, and support for financial losses.

The nonprofit, Rethink Food announced a restaurant response program wherein it will provide a $40,000 grant for 30 New York City-based restaurants at risk of closing operations due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The expectation is that restaurants accepted to participate in the program will use the funds to prepare meals for affordable price points, and temporarily operate on a distributor model to help mitigate the effects of any food shortages.

SBA is working directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and nonprofits severely impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program offers working capital loans of up to $2 million to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.